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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27151447">God save me, but don't drown me out</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/tequilababy/pseuds/tequilababy'>tequilababy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>SEVENTEEN (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst and Feels, Fluff, M/M, Religious Conflict, Small Towns</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 22:41:32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,902</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27151447</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/tequilababy/pseuds/tequilababy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Wonwoo was so distracted that he almost fell off the bench when a deep voice asked out of nowhere, "Excuse me, can I get you a be– Jeon Wonwoo?"<br/>It took a moment (a few moments actually), of Wonwoo awkwardly staring at the guy to process what he was seeing, "Kim Mingyu?"<br/>Kim Mingyu. Wonwoo had lost his words.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jeon Wonwoo/Kim Mingyu</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>God save me, but don't drown me out</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Wonwoo held Solji's hand, so the girl couldn't run off in excitement, as he tried with his other hand to lock the car (all while balancing his sister's little wicker basket on the same arm)."Wait up missy, the party isn't going to run away."</p>
<p>The girl laughed and asked him to hurry up, so he did as he was told and led Solji across the street and into the huge field the church owned. <em>If only his sister understood how intensely he didn't want to be there. </em>It was a typical sunny day, with birds chirping and laughter in the air, and even though it has been years since Wonwoo had stepped a foot on those lands, he wasn't a bit surprised to see that once again, nothing had changed; On the left side of the meadow where kids were playing around, the women of the community gathered around picnic tables, laughing and watching over their kids while their husbands did the barbecue and talked loudly. At the end of the field, in front of the church, Wonwoo could see the silhouette of some people drinking beer around a man, who the boy figured was Pastor Kim, so he automatically made a mental note to avoid that side of the terrain especially. Last, to the field's right, stood a little hill in between trees, where people didn't really go because the shadows made it a bit chilly, but there were some nice hidden picnic tables up there too, so he figured he could find some peace in there.</p>
<p>He could feel Solji shaking in enthusiasm when she spotted the huge inflatable slide and trampoline the church had rented, so he bent down next to her and looked into her eyes so she would pay full attention to him and not to her friends squealing around, "You can go play for now but stay where I can see you. Don't leave the field, don't go to the street and if you need anything come ask me, I'll be right over there. Mom said the egg hunt starts at 4 so come get your basket later, ok?"</p>
<p>The little girl nodded quickly and kissed her brother goodbye before running off (Wonwoo for the first time in 2 days, felt a smile forming on his tense face at his sister, who was wearing the green dress he had bought for her, which had a pink bow behind it almost as big as her little jumping body) to say hey to his mom's friends, who all hugged her and looked scandalously at Wonwoo when Solji pointed at him, probably to answer who had brought her there. The girl then proceeded to run to Pastor Kim and do the exact same thing, Wonwoo's body becoming cold the moment the man looked at him. His heart was beating fast, not knowing what to expect, but the Pastor simply raised his beer in a cheers motion, to what the black-haired man answered by stiffly nodding his head in acknowledgment.</p>
<p>After he was sure Solji was safely inside the trampoline, Wonwoo climbed the hill and sat down on one of the tables, away from the judgmental eyes he faced when he got there. Maybe it was his imagination, but he even saw some lost pity looks in the middle of the hate mass. <em>Incredible</em>. It has been years and people are still not over it, his parents must be <em>so </em>happy. No wonder his mom has been drowning herself with the church and school duties, <em>oh the social forgiveness she so desperately needed.</em></p>
<p>Wonwoo stared at the big table and felt a little bit nostalgic, he remembers going there a lot with his friends during his middle school years, to play with their Pokemón cards and drink soda hidden from their parents. He looked at the legs of the table and found the carved "Jeon Wonwoo", "Lee Seokmin" and "Choi Seungcheol"; The young man wonders where they are now, Seungcheol must be somewhere at the capital, doing an internship in a big company ready to become the next CEO (or at least, that's what his father had planned for him when they were young - and Wonwoo doubted he would go against his dad). Seokmin must be graduating from college god-knows-where, he doesn't even have an idea of what his ex-friend was majoring in, but Wonwoo didn't think his mom would let him go very far from their hometown (or to a much bigger city). He sometimes wondered how it would feel if his parents had so much control over his life - Not that they didn't want to.</p>
<p>He hadn't thought about his childhood friends for years and it didn't feel good, so he stopped. He had to accept that while being back in town, he would never feel good. <em>Just 11 days, Wonwoo, just 11 days.</em> He was trying his best for his sister, but every second there made him feel like he was walking on a tightrope over Grand Canyon and he couldn't see anything ahead or behind him, so he just felt nauseous and on edge all the time. It shouldn't have been like that, a fifteen-year-old shouldn't have to run away to the capital alone and build a life from zero, a fifteen-year-old shouldn't have to leave his family and all his friends behind, a fifteen-year-old shouldn't have to come back almost 10 years later and still hide so he wouldn't have to deal with ghosts from the past that he spent the last decade of his life trying to suppress.</p>
<p>Wonwoo felt his hands starting to shake, so he immediately redirected his mind to something else, something nice, like he learned to do when he was younger as a coping mechanism. He had a whole new life now and his past seemed so distant, or at least it did, until his parents called him asking for a favor, <em>"We have a business trip and we don't trust the nanny alone with Solji for that long," </em>They had the courage to say. To their luck, Wonwoo also didn't like the idea of his little sister in the hand of strangers, so there he was: At a place he swore he would never really come back. <em>Just 11 days.</em></p>
<p>He occupied himself wondering about how was Soonyoung doing back at the capital, he knew most of the time the boy was at his dancing studio teaching or practicing and now his friend was closing a partnership deal with another young guy who was also a dancer, so Wonwoo was excited to go back home and see the results of it and meet the guy, who Soonyoung was really excited about. Wonwoo was so distracted that he almost fell off the bench when a deep voice came out of nowhere, "Excuse me, can I get you a be– Jeon Wonwoo?"</p>
<p>It took a moment (a few moments actually), of Wonwoo awkwardly staring at the guy to process who he was seeing, "Kim Mingyu?"</p>
<p><em>Kim Mingyu. </em>Wonwoo had lost his words.</p>
<p>"You're still alive," Mingyu commented flatly, trying to be spontaneous, but he was still weirdly staring at him, so it was just kind of scary.</p>
<p>"You too," Wonwoo hesitantly answered and after a few beats of uncomfortable silence he felt the urge to break it, "You've changed a lot."</p>
<p>"It's been almost 10 years," Mingyu agreed, his tone laced with something strange and Wonwoo may not remember everything really well, but he doesn't have many memories of the other without a smile on his face, so he was trying to not get creeped out because it really has been almost 10 years after all. <em>He doesn't know Mingyu anymore.</em></p>
<p>"You're so tall," He tried again.</p>
<p>"I’m surprised to say the same about you," Mingyu finally cracked a smile and Wonwoo breathed in relief. The tall man took a deep breath, "Sorry, I'm just surprised."</p>
<p>"It's ok," the black-haired man smiled as the other put his hands in his pocket.</p>
<p>"You've changed a lot too."</p>
<p>"Yeah, I have a nose ring now."</p>
<p>"It's been noticed, looks cool" Mingyu giggled.</p>
<p>"Thank you. So, what have you been up to? Already in college?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, last year."</p>
<p>"Really? What are you majoring in?"</p>
<p>"Music, but I'm minoring in literature too."</p>
<p>"Wow, that's amazing! I thought you were going to study design or arts," Wonwoo commented, regretting it right away. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to bring up the past and Mingyu did seem kind of thrown back.</p>
<p>"Oh yeah, I was confused between it all, but literature kind of includes art and history too so I went for it."</p>
<p>"Cool. I don't know you were that into music, guess I've always thought the whole guitar thing was your father's doing."</p>
<p>Mingyu laughed, "It kind of was, but I ended up enjoying it."</p>
<p>"Well, when life gives you lemons," Wonwoo joked. It was corny but he just said the first thing that came to his mind because he wanted to keep the conversation going to try and ignore how tense the whole situation was. Mingyu seemed to be in the same situation because he forced a laugh, "Yeah. But what about you? Still at the capital?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, working lots.”</p>
<p>"Cool, wha- Wait, you're a few years older than me, have you graduated already?"</p>
<p>Wonwoo laughed darkly, knowing his answer would be judged, "Nah, I took some time off from college stuff."</p>
<p>"Oh, nice," Mingyu wanted to ask why but he figured that if Wowoo hadn't said it already, it's because he didn't want to and he couldn't inquire the other about it 'cause they were not that close anymore. "And what were you studying?"</p>
<p>"Psychology."</p>
<p>"Wow, that's so you," Mingyu smiled and Wonwoo could see the exact moment he thought about what he said and froze. He felt his heart drop at the thought that yes, Mingyu did know him one day, and if he didn't anymore, it was completely Wonwoo's fault. He didn't like that feeling and he didn't like Mingyu's face, so he smiled and tried to change subjects, "You're going to stand there? Come sit down!"</p>
<p>"Nah, I should probably get going, I'm supposed to help with preparing the egg hunt. But hey, let's go out someday this week," <em>I really missed my best friend that first year, </em>he wanted to say. "For the old times."</p>
<p>“Sure,” Wonwoo answered, knowing it probably was not going to happen.</p>
<p>The older man watched as Mingyu smiled and walked away, towards the small deposit behind the church, stopping to hug a few kids and wave at some moms on the way. Mingyu had always been handsome - even when they were 14 and everyone had their faces covered by acne and greasy hair, that boy had perfect tan skin and perfect shiny strands – But now Wonwoo had to say: That man was going to break a lot of hearts in his life. Maybe he had already broken his a little once.</p>
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<p>A/N : Hola guys, this is going to be cute and angsty and sad and maybe smutty, let's see. </p>
<p>Also, This is not an anti-religion story, this will be inspired by experiences that <strong>I</strong> had at the church <strong>I</strong> grew up going to, where there was no acceptance of homosexuality and lots of judgement. I'm not disrespecting anyone's believes or hating on any particular religion! </p>
<p>Hope you guys like it &lt;3</p>
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